Chapter 209
Chapter 209
Madam Bai’s expression stiffened at Old Madam Shen’s words. No matter how she listened, there seemed to be another meaning beneath them.
What was Ji Hanyi supposed to learn?
How to manage the household.
Did that not mean Old Madam Shen intended to hand the household over to Ji Hanyi?
A natural son was a natural son after all. Madam Bai had served devotedly for years and managed the residence so well, yet she still could not compare to a new bride the old woman did not even like.
She kept smiling. “Old Madam is right. I am very fond of Sister-in-law too.”
Taking Ji Hanyi’s hand, she added, “I only have the advantage of a few more years and a little more experience. I would be delighted to have you sit with me as often as you please.”
“Once you have learned everything from me, the household can be placed in your hands. I have worked for so many years that I have long wanted a rest.”
Ji Hanyi glanced at Old Madam Shen. The older woman merely stroked the cat in her arms, sitting upright with her eyes lowered. She offered neither words nor expression.
Ji Hanyi looked back at Madam Bai, who still held her hand with such warmth. She caught the implication, but could read nothing from the woman’s face.
Perhaps Madam Bai was testing her.
Ji Hanyi carefully considered how to answer.
She could hardly accept outright.
Yet Old Madam Shen did seem truly inclined to let her take over.
Ji Hanyi knew Madam Bai had managed every aspect of the household finances for fifteen years.
That was long enough for nearly everyone in the residence to become one of Madam Bai’s people.
And after controlling it for so long, could Madam Bai truly surrender her authority without resentment?
After a moment’s thought, Ji Hanyi said, “Please don’t say that, Sister-in-law. I have always been clumsy and lazy. I only hope to sit with you each day, talk, and pass the time.”
She deftly moved past the subject without accepting or refusing. She would watch and see how matters developed.
In truth, Ji Hanyi had never yearned to manage the household. She had married Shen Si in search of a peaceful life. The Shen Residence was vast, with a web of connections she would find difficult to untangle.
At the Xie Residence, she had not been allowed to interfere in household affairs, but that had never grieved her. She cared little for such things. Authority among inner-household women meant nothing to her. She wanted only a quiet, leisurely second half of her life.
The first half had seen too many reversals: noble birth, family ruin, an unhappy marriage, and a divorce that had stripped away a layer of skin. Her heart was no longer what it had once been.
Madam Bai heard her answer and glanced at Old Madam Shen before smiling again. “Rest assured, there will always be tea waiting in my rooms. I could not be happier if you came every day.”
Ji Hanyi replied with equal courtesy.
When the gathering dispersed, Old Madam Shen asked Ji Hanyi to remain.
Everyone else withdrew.
The moment Madam Bai left Old Madam Shen’s courtyard, the smile vanished from her face.
Madam Cui followed beside her and whispered, “What does Old Madam mean by this?”
Madam Bai shot her a glance and sneered. “You still don’t understand? Old Madam means to take the household authority I have managed perfectly well and give it away.”
Her smile turned bitter. “She ignored all the years I worked myself to the bone. Now that I have put the entire residence in order, she wants me to hand it over without a murmur.”
“Old Madam certainly knows who is close and who is distant. It chills the heart.”
Madam Cui understood her mother-in-law’s grievance.
Through her control of the household, Madam Bai had linked the Shen Residence’s shops, estates, and businesses with those of her own maiden family. Leveraging the Shen Residence’s name and influence, she had secretly profited a great deal.
If she surrendered everything, those profits would vanish.
Madam Cui naturally opposed it too.
“Old Madam is biased. What will we do?”
Madam Bai plucked a leaf and crushed it in her fist, her face turning cold. “She never managed a household at the Xie Family. What does she know?”
“She is young. If she wants to take the household from me, we shall first see whether she has the ability.”
“Does she imagine she can manage it merely because someone hands it to her?”
“What does she know of social obligations and worldly dealings? The waters here run deep.”
Madam Cui relaxed. “I truly cannot see what is so good about Miss Ji apart from her beauty. My friends have kept asking whom Marquis Shen married. Every one of them was astonished to hear it was Ji.”
“I watched Old Madam’s expression this morning but could tell nothing. I wonder whether she approves.”
Madam Bai walked unhurriedly. “Do you think she could? Old Madam hid her feelings only to preserve your Fifth Uncle’s dignity. Inwardly, she must be dissatisfied.”
She laughed. “So much the better.”
Shen Suyi, who had been silent beside them, suddenly said, “But Fifth Uncle seems extremely fond of Fifth Aunt. When Her Majesty the Empress invited Fifth Aunt to the flower banquet, Fifth Uncle took her hand and led her away. His face was terrifying.”
Madam Bai raised a brow. “You needn’t tell me that. If your Fifth Uncle had not taken a fancy to her, could Ji have married into the family?”
“But what does it matter? What man is not drawn to novelty at first?”
Then she added, “Stay out of this. You will soon come of age and marry. These matters are not yours to worry about.”
Shen Suyi fell silent.
Meanwhile, Ji Hanyi stood before Old Madam Shen. The older woman leaned against a large cushion, and with no one else present, her expression finally returned to coldness.
Her gaze held no warmth.
Rolling prayer beads between her fingers, she said, “You had no manners at the Xie Family. Have you brought that lack of manners into the Shen Residence too?”
“The women of the First Branch came early to attend me. Your sister-in-law arrived before dawn to help me dress and rise. Yet you came last, offered a greeting, and thought that enough.”
“Do you believe Ah Si’s favor makes the rules unimportant?”
Ji Hanyi had never imagined she had arrived so late. Shen Si had even told her to sleep longer, so she had assumed the hour was early.
She had also asked the matron in her courtyard when she should pay her respects and been told that shortly after Shen Si left would be acceptable.
Now it seemed the First Branch was exceptionally attentive to Old Madam Shen, arriving early to wait upon her. Ji Hanyi had come at the customary hour and thereby arrived last.
There was no point arguing that she had not been late. In Old Madam Shen’s eyes, she had.
Ji Hanyi hurriedly said, “I did not know Old Madam’s morning schedule today. Now that I understand, I will not come so late again.”
Old Madam Shen regarded her coolly, still finding fault no matter how she looked.
But the woman had already married into the family. What else could be done?
She drew a deep breath. “Your manners require proper instruction. Return and make yourself ready. You will enter the palace shortly.”